THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING

This is a healthy twist on an old American favourite. To be honest, I've never tried (non-vegan) Thousand island dressing, but looking at the ingredients, this comes unbelievably close to what I imagine it would taste like! It's sort of like a tomato-ish mayonnaise. Like most raw dressings it's incredibly easy to make. Pour it on salads, zoodles, or other raw veggie dishes to create a creamy, crunchy, delicious raw meal!

Recipe
2 tomatoes
1 small carrot, peeled
2 tbs tahini
2 tbs chopped spring onion (green part only)
1 tsp sauerkraut (optional)
2 medjool dates
1 tsp paprika

- Blend all ingredients together and you're done! I sprinkled some dill & spring onion and juiced a bit of lime on top too.

CHILLI (non-carne)

Unfortunately for us, our families aren't vegan, so we try to encourage them to eat less animal products by making yummy vegan dishes :) While we both enjoy raw or predominantly raw diets, we love to cook for our families. Here is one very popular vegan-for-omnivores Mexican dish that is super delicious and very versatile. It is low fat, loaded with veggies and totally scrumptious! It is a good idea to make large batches of the chilli and freeze some to use in different dishes to keep meals interesting & more convenient to prepare! 

Recipe 

1/2 cup textured vegetable protein (TVP) (make sure it's organic!)

1 cup boiled water

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

3 tsp paprika

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 carrots, grated

2 zucchinis, grated

1 capsicum, finely diced

500g cooked kidney beans

2 cans diced tomatoes 

1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce

Salt, to taste

Method

• Put the TVP in a bowl with the boiled water and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Strain the TVP and squeeze as much water out of it as possible. Add about 1/2 cup of water to a saucepan and bring to medium heat. Add the TVP and cook for 10 minutes, stirring. Once cooked, put aside in a bowl.
• Add another 1/2 cup of water to the saucepan and add the onion and garlic in. Stir until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes.
• Add the TVP back into the saucepan, along with the spices, carrot, zucchini, capsicum, tomatoes & kidney beans. Cook for 1 hour.
• Add in the sweet chilli sauce and salt. Finished! Serve with chopped coriander. 

Looking for ways to serve your chilli? Try these ideas...

- on rice (try turmeric-infused rice!)

- on pasta

- on a baked potato

- in tacos (with salsa & salad ingredients)

- in a burrito (with rice, salsa & guacamole)

- on nachos (with a cheesy sauce on top)

Raw Polenta-Stuffed Capsicums

This recipe is as delicious as it is easy to make! The raw polenta is made from corn, so it has a texture and taste similar to cooked polenta. For a more intense flavour and chewier texture, you might like to dehydrate the capsicums before you fill them- I'll definitely be trying this next time!

Recipe
4 red capsicums

5 cobs of corn

1 spring onion

1/4 tsp of cumin

6 tomatoes, diced 

1/2 green capsicum, diced

Big handful of parsley, chopped

Big handful of coriander, chopped

1 tbs lime juice

- For the polenta, slice the kernels off of the corn and freeze for at least 4 hours. Once frozen, process until they have reached a fine consistency.

- For the salsa, combine the tomatoes, capsicum, herbs and lime juice in a bowl.

- Halve the capsicums and remove the seeds. Spoon the corn into them until they're almost filled. Spoon some out of the middle and fill it with salsa.

Enjoy!

Raw Bibimbap!

Wondering how on earth you would be able to make this classic Korean dish raw?! Here's how! It may not be served up sizzling away in a clay pot but it tastes mighty delicious! There are lots of different flavours in it and all of the different elements work really well together. In my non-vegan days I loved a big bowl of bibimbap with rice, meat and veggies, complete with an egg on top and some kimchi & chilli sauce on the side. This one includes all of those components... raw-ified! Plus, totally animal-friendly of course :)

Recipe

1 head of lettuce, chopped finely

1 cucumber, julienned

2 carrots, julienned

3 tbs Sauerkraut (I used a homemade raw one with beets, purple cabbage & ginger)

Cauliflower rice

1/2 cauliflower

1 stick celery, chopped

Mushroom meat

5 mushrooms

1/4 capsicum

1 pinky-sized piece spring onion

Tangy chilli tomato sauce

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 pinky of spring onion

Handful coriander

1/2 tsp dried ground ginger 

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Avo egg

1/2 avocado 

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp lime juice

- Put the lettuce into a large bowl, leaving a handful behind. 

- For the rice, process the cauliflower and celery until it reaches a very fine rice consistency. Layer on top of the lettuce, leaving a handful behind.

- For the mushroom meat, process the ingredients until they reach a fine consistency. Optional: dehydrate for around 1 hour.

- For the sauce, blend the ingredients on high for around 1 minute. 

- For the egg, make a 1cm slice in the avo half, lengthways and parallel to the first slice (so it looks like the one pictured!). Mash up the outer portion with a fork and add the turmeric & lime juice.

- Arrange the cucumber, carrot, mushroom meat and leftover handfuls of lettuce & cauli rice on top of the rice and lettuce in the bowl. Put the sauerkraut on top of everything in the centre. Put the avo slice on top & fill the hole with the mashed avocado. 

...And you have bibimbap!

Choc-orange Banana Ice-cream Cookie Sandwiches - 3 Ways!

These yummy little treats are perfect for any time of the day! Breakfast. brunch, dessert - I find I'm always in the mood for them! The recipe is super simple too, so they're perfect for when you need to whip up something delicious with limited time! Hope you love them as much as we did :)

COOKIES

• 3/4 cup oat flour (just blend up rolled oats in the blender!)
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 - 2 tbsp cacao powder (depending on how chocolate-y you want it)

ORANGE-BANANA ICE-CREAM

• 1 frozen banana (cut into coins beforehand)
• 1 tsp orange rind
• pistachios, cacao nibs or anything else you'd like to roll your ice-cream sandwiches in!

Method:

- Mash the banana in a bowl, then add the rest of the cookie ingredients. 

- Use a rolling pin to roll between two baking sheets, and use a cookie cutter to cut into round circles.

- Cook in the oven for around 10-15 minutes (or until slightly browned) on 160C.

- Allow to cool completely.

- For the ice-cream, blend up the banana and the orange rind in a food processor until nice and smooth.

- Place a dollop of ice-cream on one cookie, then squish the other on top!

- Roll them in pistachios, cacao nibs, or anything else - be creative!

You could also freeze these immediately after making them so that the ice-cream hardens up a little more!

Enjoy :) xx

CHOC-RASPBERRY-VANILLA-PB RAW VEGAN CAKE

 Okay so it's a  bit of a mouthful (literally) but this was one of the tastiest cakes I've made! It's raw, vegan and packed full of deliciousness!
Last time I made a raw vegan cake was back in January when it was summer, and up until now I felt that raw cakes were really more of a summer thing...but this one definitely proves that idea wrong! There are four layers - the base (made up primarily of dates..YUM), the two middle layers (one being chocolate, the other raspberry + vanilla), and the top, which is peanut butter cups (super easy!) and some decorative raspberries
Here is the recipe. If you make it please tag us - we love seeing all of your recreations! :)


RAW VEGAN CHOC-RASPBERRY-VANILLA-PB CAKE
Base:
1 cup dates
1/2 cup almonds

Chocolate Layer:
1 banana
1 cup cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours)
1 and 1/2 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp maple syrup

Raspberry-Vanilla Layer:
1 banana
1 cup cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours)
1 tbsp maple syrup
3/4 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)
1 tbsp desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Peanut Butter Cups:
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 tbsp maple syrup
Peanut butter

DIRECTIONS:

-For the base, blend together dates and almonds in a food processor and spread at the bottom of an approx. 15cm round pan

-For the chocolate layer, blend all ingredients together until smooth. Pour into the pan and smooth out.
-Do the same for the raspberry-vanilla layer, except only place 1/2 cup raspberries into the processor.
-Once combined, gently fold in the remaining raspberries (so that you can have some yummy chunks when you bite into it!).
-Pour mixture on top of choc layer, being careful not to press too hard when smoothing out so that the layers don't mix together. Place in the freezer for 8 hours or overnight.

-For the peanut butter cups, mix together the coconut oil, cacao and maple syrup until completely smooth. If you are finding it difficult you may need to place the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat to achieve a smooth texture.
-Line 4 cupcake tins and pour in just enough choc sauce to cover the bottom of them.
-Place in the freezer for about 10 minutes so they can harden.
-Remove from freezer and spoon a small dollop of peanut butter in the middle of each cup.
-Then, pour the rest of the choc sauce over it to cover the peanut butter completely.
-Freeze for at least 20 minutes.

Once done, it's time to assemble the cake! I placed 3 peanut butter cups on the top of my cake and crumbled up the fourth :) I also used the leftover chocolate sauce to drizzle around the edge of the cake, and topped with some more raspberries!

Store in the fridge for about a week.

Enjoy! xx

Zesty Pasta & Kale Salad

This pasta was a bit of an experiment- and it turned out to be delicious! Orange may seem like a very traditional breakfast food, but it works well in this savoury dish :) I kept the salad and pasta separate for the photo but they tasted goooood mixed together. The kale salad is one I make regularly- If you're like me and don't like the bitter taste of raw kale, this is a super easy way to get rid of the bitterness and make it tasty!

Kale Salad

Big bunch of curly kale (about 15-20 stalks)

1/2 an avocado

1 tsp lime juice

Zesty Pasta

3 zucchinis

1 punnet cherry tomatoes

1/2 an avocado

1 tsp lime juice

1/4 cup orange juice

1 tsp chopped spring onion

1/2 tsp chopped dill

Pinch of tumeric

For the salad, remove the stems from the kale leaves and rip or chop the leaves into small pieces. Using a fork, mash the avocado with the lime juice until smooth. Pour the dressing over the kale and massage with your hands for a few minutes or until the leaves have started to wilt.

For the pasta, spiralize or peel the zucchinis into thin strips. Thinly slice the tomatoes. Blend the rest of the ingredients until smooth. Combine the zucchini, tomatoes and sauce together.

This makes a biiiig serving, so you might want to share it... Maybe ;)